Up, up and away … finally

Delayed Falcon 9 soars from VSFB

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

The mission control room erupted into applause and cheers as the Falcon 9 rocket — after a week of delays — finally took off Friday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The rocket was supposed to have taken off on Tuesday, but there were delays throughout the week, and the wintry weather played a role in those.

But on Friday, the weather was calm, the sun bright. And off the SpaceX rocket went, straight up into the deep blue sky, followed by a flawless separation of the first and second stages.

An Amtrak train collided Friday morning with a wood chipper that was on the back of a vehicle in the 11000 block of Calle Real in the Gaviota area. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded, and the train tracks were shut down. The incident commander reported no injuries on the train, and the driver of the pickup refused medical transport for minor injuries. The cause is under investigation, Capt. Scott Safechuck, public information officer for Santa Barbara County Fire, reported in a tweet. Call time for the collision was 10:41 a.m.